Q&A With Connor Emert
Who inspires you?
Out of everyone in my life, my dad is probably the most inspiring person I know. He was born poor on a little farm out in rural Oregon with 10 brothers and sisters, so there wasn’t a lot to go around. They worked all day everyday on the farm or at other jobs to be able to eat, and he didn’t have a lot of time to goof off as a kid.
I, on the other hand, have never gone to bed hungry a day in my life, and that’s thanks to my father’s hard work. He worked his butt off his whole life to get where he is today, and it’s thanks to his work ethic that I didn’t have to get up at 5 a.m. on a school morning in below-freezing weather to go milk the cows. (Or so he likes to tell me anyway.) But all jokes aside, my dad is an inspiration to me, and I couldn’t be prouder to have him as my father.
What was your first job?
It’s pretty cliché, but the first real job I ever had was mowing lawns over the summer. It was hot, tedious work that my dad said was great for “character building.” Now, I don’t know about that, but I will say mowing lawns and other similar jobs probably helped to prepare me for the tedium of a life intertwined with Excel spreadsheets!
Name two things you consider yourself to be really good at.
- I’m a very strong swimmer—especially when frightened! My father once said I broke the water speed record for any land mammal fleeing from a Great Barracuda I glimpsed several hundred feet away while snorkeling in the Caribbean.
- Every Emert knows how to cook. My father and grandfather both worked in the restaurant business for years and taught me a lot of what they know. I like to think I’m pretty good at it, but I know Gordon Ramsay would probably call me an idiot sandwich if I ever tried to feed him anything.
What show are you watching on Netflix right now?
I haven’t really watched Netflix in a while, but right now I’m watching “House of the Dragon” from HBO, which is feeding my “Game of Thrones” addiction until George R.R. Martin releases the “Winds of Winter” or dies from old age and crushes my hopes of ever getting a satisfying ending to that series–whichever comes first.
Where is your favorite place to travel?
I love to visit national parks over the summer with my family. My personal favorite is pretty common, but there’s just no beating Yellowstone when it comes to the views and the sheer amount of things to do – and I’m a Floridian, so when I say there’s a lot to do, I’m comparing it to Disney World.
What are three things on your bucket list?
Three things from my bucket list in no particular order are:
- Dine at a 3-star Michelin Restaurant
- Convince my fiancé to attend Halloween Horror Nights with me just once
- Take a trip to Italy (this one is also food-related)
What are you most proud of when it comes to Beyond Fifteen?
I’m very proud of my development in social media creative design. Going through college, I wasn’t the most confident in my artistic skills, so hearing my coworkers and clients compliment the work I put into the content decks I spend so long making is a real confidence booster.
What do you love most about Beyond Fifteen?
The work environment is incredible! All my coworkers are extremely nice and easy to talk to—no matter how small the question I ask is. Even for a mostly virtual company, we all talk to each other a lot and someone is always there to listen or commiserate with over a rough week. The camaraderie here is my favorite thing about this company.